There are bits and pieces of who I am and how I act that are pretty representative of the Midwest culture I grew up in.

• I am use to a small town where everyone knows each other and where no one is too busy to stop and help a complete stranger.
• I say Pop not soda…and definitely not Coke.
• When we talk about sports in Nebraska, it can only mean one thing: The Cornhuskers. With no pro sports of any kind, Nebraskans live and die by their Huskers and no other team.
• On Sunday, you make no plans except those to spend with your family.
• We say you guys not y’all, even when we are around just girls.

and

• Being a high achiever means doing well in high school sports and then going on to graduate from UNL or Creighton

But now, four years into my stay at UT and the Great State of Texas, I think I have come to realize that I have converted. Texas feels like home to me.

Now, I may never say Coke (honestly, what is the deal with that anyway?) but I have come to miss so many things back at UT.

It is not just friends that I miss but the atmosphere in which I operate. I miss a school that is open 24 hours and is always there to challenge me, to push me.

I miss the sunshine and how I had the ability to work out outdoors instead of on a treadmill because there is a blizzard outside.

In a nerdyish way, I miss the MPA program. There is nothing in the country that can compare to it. Yes, it is number one by academic standards, but the program is so much more. For many of us, we give everything that we can to the program. (The phrase, “blood, sweat, and tears” comes to mind.) I miss some of my teachers. Over the years, I have built a relationship with certain professors that they are now more like mentors to me.

I miss the pride of UT and how everyone bleeds orange. I miss it because burnt orange now runs deep within my veins. I love McCombs and I am dang proud to be a student there. Now, I will always love Nebraska because my family will always be home to me, but I think Texas has taken hold of me in a way that I never thought possible. Texas has roped me in.

Hook ’em!